Projects per year
Abstract
Applications of natural fibres are expanding, and sustainable alternatives are needed to support this growing demand. We investigated the production of fibres using alginates from Saccharina latissima (SAC), Laminaria digitata (LAM), Sacchoriza polyschides (SACC), and Himanthalia spp. (HIM). After extraction (3 % w/v biomass) using a sustainable protocol based on citric acid, crude alginate represented 61-65 % of the biomass dry weight for SAC and LAM, and 34-41 % for SACC and HIM when experiments were performed at small scale (1.5 g of starting material). Interestingly, scaling-up extraction (60 g of starting material) decreased yields to 26-30 %. SAC and LAM alginates had the highest M/G (mannuronic acid/guluronic acid) ratios and molecular weights when compared to those from SACC and HIM (M/G:1.98 and 2.23, MW: 302 and 362 kDa, vs 1.83 and 1.86, 268 and 168 kDa). When the four types of alginates were tested for spinning fibres cross-linked with CaCl 2, only SAC and LAM alginates produced fibres. These fibres showed no clumps or cracks under stretching action and presented a similar Young's modulus (2.4 and 2.0 GPa). We have demonstrated that alginate extracted from S. latissima and L. digitata can be successfully spun into functional fibres cross-linked with CaCl 2.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 434-442 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | International journal of biological macromolecules |
Volume | 226 |
Early online date | 13 Dec 2022 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 31 Jan 2023 |
Bibliographical note
© 2022 The AuthorsProjects
- 1 Finished
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Seafibres: Production of sustainable fibres from UK sourced seaweed
Gomez, L. D. (Principal investigator), MacQuarrie, D. J. (Co-investigator) & Tonon, T. (Co-investigator)
BBSRC (BIOTECHNOLOGY AND BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES RESEARCH COUNCIL)
1/06/21 → 31/08/22
Project: Research project (funded) › Research